


Fly

by Karria



Series: Shield of Tomorrow [3]
Category: Shield of Tomorrow (Web Series), Shield of Tomorrow (Webseries)
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 12:39:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13659162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karria/pseuds/Karria
Summary: That talk has to happen someday, but it apparently isn't today





	Fly

Sally was singing.

The silent hum of the engine was something Lark always enjoyed while being in Starfleet; the pressure and stress slowly disappearing as they flew through the vastness of space. Especially when everything was working properly and Sally was sailing smoothly.  

This was one of these moments, just a quiet morning on the Alpha shift, and she knew Captain and Commander were right behind her.

It felt like family.

Right now, in the middle of the war with the Klingons, those moments were so rare she learned to appreciate them even more; every hour they spent in warp, travelling, scanning scientific phenomena like they _should_ be doing was so precious she was savouring it. Every meeting that was filled with mostly boring reports, with some jokes in between (that Commander Rue never seemed to appreciate). Every friendly conversation in the mess hall.

It felt like it could end any second, that serenity, and it was scary, so she tried not to think about it much.

The Captain and the Commander were talking in hushed voices, discussing some possible strategic outcomes of their mission; whether or not they would encounter Klingons on the way.  Every time they entered a possible combat was nerve wrecking, as she knew they were all counting on her.  It might have been stupid, but she always felt a little guilty whenever Sally has taken a shot, even though it was unavoidable sometimes.

She glanced back and Commander Rue was looking right at her. She gave them a nervous smile and looked right back at her console.

Did they know? Somehow figured out she was accessing information she was never supposed to have?

A lot of things worried her, but disappointed Commander Rue was one of the worst circumstances one could possibly find themselves into.  Not only that, she was fairly sure that using command codes of high ranking officers without their knowledge and permission would have put her in carrer to an end, _if_ it wouldn’t just put her in jail.

She felt the Commander’s glance on her back. It felt like they were looking right through her.

 _Deep breaths_. She reminder herself. _Take some deep breaths, it’s going to be fine._

“ETA 15 minutes, captain.” She reported, trying her best to sound perfectly normal. Martinez nodded in response.

“Right, Sage, take us in there. Be cautious.”

They jumped into the system with no problem, and the science officers immediately started taking sensors scan. They were here to take the readings off a dying star, on the way to another destination.

“Alright, we have, what it would be Lieutenant Commander, about 2 hours?” Martinez asked T’Lan and she nodded.

“I, maybe, I will check in the Engineering to see if they need any help?” Sage asked the Captain, suddenly feeling like she needed to get out of Rue’s sight. Martinez looked at her for a second, and he also had that insightful look in his eyes, like he could read her like an open book.

“Actually, before you do that, Commander Rue had something to tell you, I believe?” He turned to Rue and they nodded.

“Yes. Permission to use the ready room, captain?” Rue asked.

“Of course.” Martinez turned, seemingly to exchange some words with T’Lan, and Rue looked back at Sage.

“Follow me, Sage.” There was this feeling. Like a student that was caugh smoking and is being led to principal’s office. Only much, much worse because it was the Commander and _they trusted her._

They led her into the captain’s ready room and turned around, looking at her. There was the uncomfortable silence, stretching on, and Sage couldn’t take it.

“You wanted to talk to me, Commander?” She asked nervously.

“Sage…” It was unbelievable, but it seemed like the Commander didn’t exactly know what to say. _What would I say in their place?_ Sage wondered. She was not entirely convinced she was in the wrong either; the desire to find her parents, to finally ask them all the questions she had in her head for far too long now, all of that made the temptation well too great.

She was alone, since Xadas left, and she desperately wanted to fix that.  Her only real friend. She couldn’t blame him, she could not even imagine what he had to go through, but it still hurt. As much as the look the Commander gave her right now.

“Sage, we’ve done a standard computers scan, and we have detected some unusual activity. With a usage of command codes.”

They were giving her a chance, Lark realized, to explain herself. But what explanation could she give? It was nothing that could justify it, truthfully.

“Commander, I…” Lark barely opened her mouth when she was interrupted by the ships computes.

_Red alert, all hands to battle stations. Red alert…_

Sage looked at Rue and in that split second she saw some indescribable emotion on their face.

“Get back to the bridge, Sage. We’ll talk later.”

“Yes, sir.” Sage turned around and went back to her station.

Somehow, she did not feel relieved.


End file.
